The Project
by KageShini Shadow
Summary: Ichigo finds himself paired with Kuchiki Byakuya on a project on which their school's honour depends. They will have to develop their friendship if they wish to succeed. But what will happen when the feeling of love takes birth?   'T' for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**wOk, so…um… this is my first fanfic and it actually is the result of a bet (I lost); so please review after reading and just say what u think about it( good or bad I don't care; I just want the truth )**

**I don't own any of the characters just the scheme is mine.**

**Normal POV**

"Shit shit shit shit."Ichigo kept cursing aloud. ' I was supposed to be in class an hour ago' he thought. 'Ukitake sensei is not gonna be happy.' He was running in the corridors in an attempt to make it to the conference room.

Today is a very special day at Sereitei High School; every year two students, a first year student and a final year student, are chosen at random through a draw to work on a project where they have to represent the school at national level. The subject of the competition is different every year and the school of the winner is awarded the title of best school of the year. Sereitei High School has been the winner ever since Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni and Urahara Kisuke started co-directing the school, aka for more than 15 years.

After 5 minutes of running through corridors, the doors of the auditorium finally came in sight. Opening the door discretely, Ichigo was surprised to hear the noise the students were making; apparently the one of the teachers, Kyoraku Shunsui, was not here yet. "Must have dozed off again," Ichigo thought as he scanned the room for his friends. They were not difficult to find; all he had to do was look for the group of students that stood out the most.

Ichigo quickly made his way to the back where his friends were, avoiding Keigo who came at him shouting his name and letting him fall face first down due to the speed he ran at and ignoring him. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Oh hello, Ichigo, they are gonna start the draw shortly. I advanced the time by 1 hour." Rukia replied smiling. "I wonder who're gonna be the chosen ones and what the subject is this year." Saying that she pattered the seat next to her, " Here, I kept a seat for u since I had a feeling you were gonna be late."

Ichigo frowned at that, " You told me that the draw was at 9:00 instead of 10:00 so as to make sure that I was on time?" Rukia nodded in answer. At that Ichigo burst out laughing, "Are you really trying to become my mother?" A hit on the head stopped his laugh though.

Rukia and Ichigo knew each other since their childhood days. Ichigo's family owns a clinic in their house itself and The Kuchiki (Rukia's family) had brought her for treatment once since the clinic is nearer to the kindergarten compared to the hospital. Rukia had fallen down after school and wouldn't stop crying saying she wanted her Aniki. It had been about a month since Ichigo's mother death and he was still recovering. The weak and emotionless 'tadaima' he said got to Rukia who stopped crying and despite her bleeding knee she got off the bed and limped to Ichigo.

" My name is Kuchiki Rukia and what is your name?" she had asked him smiling. But when Ichigo looked up at her, the sadness and emptiness in his eyes caused Rukia to automatically hug him and from that moment Ichigo had got a third sister.

They got admission at the same primary school and have been together ever since. Though Rukia's elder brother, Kuchiki Byakuya didn't like Ichigo very much but Ichigo rarely saw him. Byakuya was a real prodigy in both sports and studies and the very incarnation of the word refinement. He was handsome and had quite a large number of fans (even some of Ichigo's friends). But he never took them seriously and he still doesn't even if he is now in his last year at Sereitei High. Rukia and Byakuya were completely different in characters but they had one thing in common; their drawing skills sucked.

His memories were interrupted when the headmasters entered, followed by the other teachers, and greeted the students who fell into a pin drop silence. Headmaster Yamamoto was the one who spoke.

"Well the lets start this draw." He pointed at two containers on the table, "These contain the names of each end everyone of the seniors and the first years. One from each group will be chosen and the pair will represent the school."

Headmaster Urahara was the next to speak, "We shall now begin the draw and the chosen ones are expected to stay back for more details, clear?" "Well then Yoruichi-sensei please start with the seniors."

Shihoin Yoruichi, the chemistry teacher, put her hand in one of the containers and drew out a folded piece of paper which she handed to Headmaster Yamamoto.

The headmaster unfolded the paper and called out, "Kuchiki Byakuya from 7A…" a loud wave of cheers from the girls interrupted him, "uhum(silence again)….Kuchiki Byakuya, please come on stage…"

"I really pity the poor guy or girl who is gonna be teamed with the ice prince of Sereitei," Ichigo whispered to his friends who all grinned at him, all except Rukia who glared at for making fun of his brother.

"Unohana-sensei would you please choose for the juniors," Headmaster Urahara asked the school's nurse. Unohana Retsu took out a folded piece of paper from the other container and handed it to Headmaster Yamamoto.

" Kurosaki Ichigo from 1C, please come on stage," the headmaster called out.

**With Ichigo**

On hearing his name, Ichigo thought he was imagining things. Of course this could not be true, absolutely impossible. The gods didn't hate him that much, did they? "Say it's a joke," he thought' " tell me it's a fucking joke!"

"Why me…why me….why me…"

**Normal POV**

"… o…go….chigo….ICHIGO!" Ichigo broke out of his thought and looked at Rukia who was calling him. " What is it?" , he asked stupidly. Rukia pointed to the stage.

"Kurosaki Ichigo- kun would you please come over here or do you need an invitation written on paper?" Headmaster Urahara asked him.

"Go Ichigo, they've been calling out for you for almost five minutes now," Rukia said.

Slowly Ichigo got up and marched towards the stage. The "Good luck Ichigo" from Renji barely registering in his head. He felt like he was going towards his die on that stage.

"Well then now that Kurosaki-kun finally graced the stage with his presence, the draw is over and everyone, except the two chosen, please proceed to your respective classes and have a good day."

Ichigo looked in at his friends who all went out giving him sympathetic looks, even Rukia, since she knew how things was between her brother and Ichigo, as they exited the auditorium.

Headmaster Yamamoto was the one who spoke, "The opening ceremony will take place next week and you'll be taken there from school and will be accompanied by me and two another teacher. The details of the project will be announced then and for the sake of the school's reputation you two will have to forsake your first term holidays since you will be working on the project. Use this week to get to know each other better. I'll meet up with the both of you tomorrow and I advise you to start befriending each other as from today itself. For now you may proceed back to your classes. "With that he left the two teens alone.

Byakuya was the one who broke the silence that had fallen, "You will have lunch with me as from today…"

"Hey, don't go deciding everything yourself," Ichigo protested.

"Trust me when I say I don't want this even more than you but we've got no choice and unless you want to bring the school's honor down I suggest we work together, at least until the end of this project," Byakuya said.

"Fine but you'll have to accept the fact that my friends, which include Rukia, will be joining us since unlike you I'm a social person," Ichigo said, grinning evilly.

"Is that an insult?" Byakuya asked him.

"Afraid Byakuya-kun?" Ichigo asked smiling.

"You'd wish," Byakuya said " I will tolerate you and your friends but only until the project starts. After that you will be eating alone with me and since we'll be busy discussing the project others cannot stay with us. Let's see if you can stand that Ichigo." Ichigo gulped.

Only then did they realise how near they got to each other, especially their faces, during their little argument. Both blushed (Ichigo's face was pink while Byakuya's blush was faint and temporary) and took a step back.

"We'll see each other at lunch then, Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya said before exiting the auditorium. Ichigo followed soon before heading to his own classroom and thinking how to announce to his friends that the school's idol was going to have lunch with them.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Please review after reading and just say what u think about it (good or bad I don't care; I just want the truth)**

**I don't own any of the characters just the scheme is mine.**

**Ichigo's POV**

In the end I couldn't tell them that Byakuya would be having lunch with us. On sunny days like today we either have our lunch on the school's roof or in the yard since the cafeteria is too crowded and noisy. We were making our way to the roof and I wasn't listening to what the others were talking about since I was trying to find a good excuse to give to Byakuya when I bumped into Renji who was in front of me.

"Kuchiki-taichou, why are you here?" Renji asked seeing one of the kendo club's, his team captain more precisely, standing on their usual eating spot.

On hearing that I froze. "How did he know that we'll be here?" I thought.

"Nii-sama, since you are here why don't you join us for lunch," Rukia said to her older brother as she walked towards him and gave him a hug. "Congratulations for being selected to represent the school."

"Hn," was Byakuya's reply as he untangled himself from his little sister's embrace.

"With you in the team, we'll definitely be the best again. I can't say the same about your partner though," she said glancing at me.

That brought me back. He really hated it when he's considered to be inferior to others, especially to Byakuya. "Hey don't you dare look down on me," he said to Rukia, which made her laugh. Byakuya just looked at him with a 'you didn't tell them anything about our little arrangement, did you' look on his face accompanied by a smirk. Uryuu was the only one who noticed the way the two 'chosen ones' reacted to each other.

Readjusting his glasses, smirking, he said, "We can only expect a success if they don't end up killing each other…" The glares from the two stopped his comment.

**Normal POV**

"Ishida, don't poke your nose in our business," Ichigo said, not giving any thought on the hidden meaning of his sentence. Byakuya only raised an eyebrow but quickly went back to his poker face. "How about we eat before the bell rings?" Chad remarked.

*a few minutes later*

"Just how did I end up sitting beside him?" Ichigo thought. They were seated in two rows facing another; Ichigo was seated at one of the ends, with no one in front of him and with Byakuya next to him. Rukia had taken his seat in front of Renji since she wanted to sit next to her beloved onii-sama. On Rukia's other side was Uryuu and in front of him was Chad.

"Will you do it or should I do it, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Byakuya whispered discretely to Ichigo. The questioning look on Ichigo's face forced him to elaborate, "Will you tell them about our little arrangement or should I do it?"

"I will do it later, ok?" Ichigo murmured.

"Hn…"

"Anyone talked to Orihime lately?" Uryuu asked, "I only see her in class nowadays."

"She confessed to Ulquiorra and they started going out, around two weeks ago," Rukia said.

"WHAT?" everyone, save Rukia and Byakuya, asked (more like shouted).

"Don't look at me like that I didn't know until recently myself and I thought she already told you," Rukia defended herself from the stares she was receiving from her friends.

"Well they were eyeing each other for a while now so it's about time they made a move." Ichigo remarked. "There's another pair who should make their move soon," Ichigo said looking at Rukia who blushed and looked away. Byakuya noticed that and made a note to inquire about that from his 'partner'.

The bell rang indicating the end of the lunch break. They all packed up and made their way back to their class. The others went up a little ahead of Ichigo and Byakuya since they thought the two would like to discuss the project.

"Why were you looking at Rukia when you said that?" Byakuya asked.

"Uh?"

-stare-

"Oh that, don't you know already, Byakuya?"

"If I did I wouldn't be asking, would I?"

"True enough. Rukia has… uhm…taken a liking… to Grimmjow and vice versa."

"…Grimmjow as in the lowly punk Grimmjow Jaggerjack?"

"Er…yeah…don't take your anger out on me ok?"

"Why would I do that? Rukia's free to love whoever she wants. As long as she' happy and safe I have nothing to say in the matter. I trust you too since you said it out loud."

"Yeah…hey did WE just agree on something?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you really are an idiot." With those words Byakuya left to his class.

"Am not," Ichigo murmured while making his way to his classroom. The rest of the day went on smoothly.

** The next day (after morning bell)**

Ichigo was proceeding to his classroom when he saw a crowd of students, mostly girls, in front of the classroom. He didn't need to ponder for long to know why.

"Congratulations on your selection, Kuchiki-san."

"With you on the project, the school is sure to win"

…

Normally Ichigo would be irritated, angry and a little jealous but at the moment he was rather compassionate with Byakuya. His face clearly indicated that he was trapped and couldn't tell his fans off due to his honour and pride of being a gentleman from the Kuchiki family. Ichigo decided to help him.

"Hey, Byakuya, I have to talk to you about the project. Can we go somewhere more quiet?" Ichigo intervened but he wondered if it was the right thing to do. Byakuya's fans were eyeing him dangerously and he could say they were angry, because he just disturbed them and jealous, because he was the one who got paired up with Byakuya.

"Sure," he gave Ichigo a thanking look and turned to his fans, "please excuse us."

They walked silently till the end of the corridor. Byakuya was the first to speak

"Thank you for back then Ku…Ichigo."

"No problem, that was a situation even I would hate to be in. Anyways why were you in front of my class?"

"The chairmen sent word that the details about the competition have arrived and they would like to meet us during the first two periods."

"I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about this. What about you Byakuya?"

"Hn..meeting the chairmen is not always a good experience."

"You know, am glad that Rukia doesn't get to see us like this."

"Why is that so?"

"Well she would try to help our 'friendship' grow and that might end up…badly..No offense, even if she's your sister, ok"

"That is truly what she would try to do"

-Silence-Since when were they so casual to each other?

They were finally at the Chairmen's office. Byakuya knocked at the door.

"Come in."

**TBC**

**I'm really sorry for such a late update but this month has been full of mishaps and especially power cuts. ( at least once every week.) I promise I'll update sooner for the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**wsPlease review after reading and just say what u think about it (good or bad I don't care; I just want the truth)**

**I don't own any of the characters just the scheme is mine.**

Byakuya opened the door to the office and entered followed by Ichigo who closed the door behind him. The office was well furnished. It had two office desks, one next to the other, in front of the window with matching comfortable- looking armchairs. There were shelves (a lot of them) on one of the walls with all the trophies won by the school. The other walls had frames on them, they were pictures of the school, students, teachers, etc… There was also a sofa set in black leather.

"Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-san, good morning. Please take a seat," Urahara-san greeted them, all while doing some paperwork and indicating the chairs in front of the desks. Both boys sat down and waited for the directors to finish their paper works. They waited for about five minutes and for some reason it seemed more like five hours to both boys. When Yamamoto-san finally looked up from his paperwork and acknowledged their presence by a slight nod oh the head. They waited for Urahara-san to finish before starting the conversation.

"Since both of you are here, I'll take for granted that both of you know what this conversation will be about," Yamamoto-san said.

Both boys nodded as answer.

"There has been a change of plans and the opening ceremony will be taking place outside of town and the authorities have already made staying arrangements," Yamamoto-san continued.

"Staying arrangements?" both boys asked; Ichigo quiet loudly, Byakuya, silently (A/N in a low voice).

"Yes, staying arrangements. This year the ceremony will last for two days, more precisely on Monday and Tuesday next week. However they request the presence of the candidates on the eve, " Yamamoto-san continued.

"The school will be making arrangements for the transport. You will be travelling by train to Takasaki. I will meet you at the station on Sunday at 2 pm. Kyoraku sensei will be accompanying you two," Urahara-san said. "You may go now and have a good day."

The two boys bowed and proceeded to the door.

"Oh and don't forget to prepare yourselves well because the competition can be about anything," Urtahara said to them with a gleam in the eye that looked evil, "Anything at all."

Ichigo closed the door behind them and they silently walked away from the office in the empty corridors of the school. After the turn at the end of the corridor they both stopped and Ichigo exhaled loudly.

"Geez that was weird," Ichigo said. "And why is the laziest teacher of the school accompanying us? Kyoraku-sensei is a skirt chaser and we will have to look after him instead of the other way round..Hey mind answering or making a comment? I hate it when.."

Ichigo stopped seeing that Byakuya was deep in thoughts. He reach out and grabbed Byakuya's arm, stopping the latter and snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Hey what's the matter?" Ichigo asked.

"Something about the director's reaction was…weired and for some unknown reasons I really don't like it. It's almost like he already know what the topic is and…"Byakuya paused looking for the right words, "he has something planned."

"Yeah I know. That last comment of his gave me the creeps and I'm trying not to think about it. Though him knowing what the topic would be beforehand is possible since he's like the devil with an innocent face."

-Silence-

"I have a bad feeling about this," Ichigo finally said.

"Yes," Byakuya said silently, "We should hurry to our classes."

They were walking back to the classes when they heard a sound from the closet. They looked at each other and decided to check it out. However when Ichigo turned the knob, the door burst open and both boys were pushed down, more exactly Ichigo lost his balance from the impact and dragged pushing Byakuya down with him. This resulted in Byakuya falling on the floor with Ichigo on top of him. When they noticed their positions, both blushed and look away from embarrassment.

"Ah Yoruichi-chan there you are," Uraharah-san said, "I was looking all over the school for you." Both boys sweat dropped as Urahara took the black cat in is arms. After all only Uraharah-san can do something as stupid as naming his cat just like his fiancée, and still be able to stay engaged.

"My, my and what are you two doing on the floor like that?" He asked with a smirk.

Both boys stood up at light speed and looked at anywhere but each other and the director.

"You should restrain yourselves at school boys." He added and went on his way with the cat.

"We should hurry back to class," Byakuya said and quickly walked away from his partner towards his classroom.

Ichigo watched Byakuya's retreating back with a surprised and embarrassed look on his face. Instead of going back to class, he rushed to the washroom. He rinsed his face and dried up before looking up at his reflection in the mirror. His face was still a little flushed.

**Ichigo's POV**

"What was that?" I asked myself, "why is my heart beating so fast?"

An imaged of the two of us in that awkward position flashed in my mind, causing my face to become redder.

Something's wrong I thought.

Why, Why did I fell different when we fell?...Why did I feel disappointed when we stood up?

_Thump….Thump….Thump_

"What's wrong with me?" I asked my reflection.

_Riiiiiiiing_

The bell for the third period. Nothing's wrong with me, I'm just freaked out from the meeting with the directors, that's all. It'll pass soon. I should go back to class. I have PE class next.

**Normal POV**

"That's good. Some physical exercise will help me feel better," he murmured and proceeded to the gymnasium.

Unknown to him, someone was having trouble following his literature class. Byakuya found that he wasn't able to get two things out of his mind and that was troubling him; 1) His mind kept going back on their weird meeting with the directors and 2) images of his previous fall with Ichigo kept flashing in his mind.

"What's going on?" he thought.

**TBC**

**Hey every1. Hope u all had a Merry- Christmas and I wish u all a Happy & Prosperous New Year. ^_^ **

**I hope u like this chapter since it's the third attempt (the previous two didn't look good)**

**I mentioned before that this is because I lost a bet to a friend. And I think I should do a proper dedication so here goes:**

**This story is for Zeenat **


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